UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Jeff Buterbaugh, a senior in the Graphic Design program at Penn State, had his design selected as one of the top 50 out of entries from more than 65 countries in the international Model Young Package 2019 competition.
This year’s theme of “Unboxing Experience” forced designers to think about the ways in which the packaging, function, environment and unboxing experience of a product combine.
Entry to the competition was required as part of Buterbaugh’s "Applied Communications" course during the spring semester. Students blindly selected a product from a hat and were challenged to design packaging for that product that would be a memorable experience for the user when they “unbox” it.
Buterbaugh selected lighting as his product and said he was eager to get to work on a design that would make an impact. He had to figure out how to design packaging that would accommodate shipping a lighting piece and its components — including light bulbs — that would remain intact and undamaged when it reached its destination. But it was a challenge he was eager to accept.